Twilit Memory
by Silvite's Cry
Summary: Oneshot. Ilia visits Ordon Spring and sees someone she thought only lived on her memory. Onesided LinkxIlia.


_Silvite's Cry here, giving you another Zelda fic. Will I actually write something with chapters? Let's hope so. Onto other stuff._

_I don't know where this was supposed to go, really. It takes place about five years after the events of Twilight Princess, and I took some liberties with characters (as if that wasn't obvious. D:). Goddesses forgive me. _

_Anyway, please read and review! And read my other stuff too. You can find it on my profile. (/shameless plug) Alright, enough author's note crap._

_Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and all characters affiliated with the franchise belong to Nintendo. Huzzah. Bake a cake. :D!_

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It started off as any other day. Years had passed since the day he rode away on Epona, taking any fond childhood memories I could manage to salvage from my muddled memories into the uncertainty of twilight with him; of course, I was the only one who was hopeful (or foolish) enough to really try to keep count, both then and now. The children were all roughly around the age that we were while the incident happened- I still can't recall much from that time in my life to this day.

"Fado, you really should go and herd the goats back in the pen. It'll be getting dark soon enough. " I said while my right hand rested on my soon-to-be swollen stomach. The signs that I was with child were blaringly obvious, although it seemed that Fado had no idea. My husband looked to me, childish pout still apparent in his expression.

"Hon, it'll barely be twilight out there, I'm sure the goats can fend for themselves for a mite longer." He yawned, stretching out on the small cushioned bench _he_ had built only a few years ago as a gift to my father. I saw the motion as a symbol worthy of all the years that had passed by; _he_ made an everlasting mark on my life, but it was still unfinished. In his absence, another came and rested on the remains of what we had, not really bothering to fill in that aching hole, that empty gap that only widened when I found out that there was another soul growing within me.

Truthfully, the hope that he would come back still stood. It might have been years, but there was still that possibility. When I heard soft snoring come from my husband's mouth, I slipped out the door, careful to mind the wooden deck of my father's old home. _He_ had always joked that I should wear shoes, or I would get splinters on that deck. I could still hear his voice echo from dark recesses of lost memories swirling about in my mind, speaking of promises that he still had to fulfill.

"_Someday, Ilia, I'll make you a pair of boots. You wouldn't have to worry about stepping in anything funny then, would you?"_

My bare feet carried me through the beaten village path. Walking through the village without a hitch was natural now, although something stirred at the edges of my memory upon seeing the old pier; faint silhouettes of a boy and a young man with fishing poles, watched after by a father and mother, the former two laughing over something trivial. The sun was to the west, and the sky had gone from a bright blue to a steadily forming orange. My breath quickened as I approached the outskirts of the village, as I passed by the house that was furnished for no one. The old scarecrow was still there, abandoned on the dirt ground and covered with years' worth of debris from the trees above.

"_And this is how you grip the reins- Link, pay attention! You'll be no help on the ranch if you don't learn this now!"_

My rational thought repeatedly scolded me for my blind faith in the hour before twilight; logic said that I would never see his face again, that he was lost to the shadows and creatures of this world. Yet my feet- my heart- always carried me to this spring without fail. My eyes took in the sight of the spring, letting it all sink in as it did every day: the soft brush of invisible wings against my forearms, the clear water lapping at my bare ankles, the gentle whispers of spirits and memories long forgotten echoing both in my ears and in my mind. I made my way to the middle of the shallow pool, letting the sand rise up against the soles of my bare feet. A quiet sigh escaped my lips in the form of an uttered prayer as I closed my eyes, calling out to a nameless spirit that I had some doubt in:

"Just bring him back… if only for an instant, from the vestiges of my hazy memories… please, just let me see Link's face again." I whispered. The words spilled from my lips in little more than a murmur, barely audible above the trickling waters of the Ordon Spring; but that day, in the hour of twilight, something other than the usual nothing accompanied me.

At first, it sounded like the utterings of small children, tittering about as they surrounded the spring with invisible-but-still-felt-presence. The water seemed to distort underneath me, despite that I hadn't moved for a good fourteen minutes. The whispers of invisible children steadily grew louder, whispers forming into some foreign tongue that also tugged at the frayed edges of memory, utterings forming into tinkling laughter. My eyes widened slightly as I realized this was away from the norm- I turned around, made to run and never even think of coming back, but the figure at the edge of the pool, draped in shadow, cut my breath short upon sight.

"Ilia… it's been too long."

The words- Goddesses, the voice itself- seemed to click in my mind as the figure stepped out into the dusky haze of twilight; a key opening a rusted lock, letting a door of opportunity swing open. I could do nothing but stare at the figure before me; he nearly looked the same, with his build, his attire, even his face; it was as if the Goddess of Time had forgotten about his existence entirely, leaving him young and ever-beautiful while the rest of the world he had known in a past life decayed around him.

Yet there were differences as well; his hair had gone from the dishwater brown to near flawless white gold, reaching just past his broad shoulders. His blue eyes had hints of an orange tint, and his previously tanned skin was now pale and spattered with ceremonial tribal markings. Charcoal hued tattoos peeked out from underneath a dark tunic, bringing the sounds of monsters long forgotten to the front of my mind.

But, this was still the same hero that had saved me, despite his differences in appearance. A hint of a smile graced his features as he held out a hand towards me. I hastened to close the distance between us, my bare feet rushing towards this miracle of the goddesses. Rushing into his chest, I was enveloped by his scent: there was a slight trace of the hay we would always sit in as children. This scent was overpowered by a nearly musty scent, the scent of someplace that never saw the light of day. In the back of my mind something told me that this was the first time that he had seen Din's rays in months- no, _years_. Unknowingly I broke the silence that had formed between us.

"Link… where have you been?" I asked, looking up at him. "You left with hardly a word. No one's been in contact with you for Farore knows how long!" I said, perhaps a little too sternly in retrospect. If it was, my hero certainly didn't show it. He still had that small smile, that adorable grin that I had missed for far too long.

"Ilia, I can't really explain. I'm not long for here." He said wistfully, holding me by the waist. "Hell, I'm surprised that I was able to make it back here." He said, the hint of laughter in his voice not reaching his eyes. My face faltered.

"But- but you're here now! You can't just get up and leave again, even after a few moments! It… it's unfair!" I said, my fists clenching. Link frowned, brushing my hair back into the style I wore it in back when I was still young, hopeful.

"It's against the will of the Goddesses that I'm here now, Ilia. Bending the fabric of reality isn't exactly something they approve of either the Twili or the Hylians knowing about, let alone doing." Link said in a harried whisper, moving his hand to my shoulder. Anger flared up within me; I slapped his hand away.

"You- you said that you would come back and stay! I remember that much, at least!" I very nearly shouted. Link looked bewildered; I instantly regretted my words. Unable to look him in the face, my eyes went to the canopy of leaves above us.

"Well, this isn't as bad as I expected." Link half said, half sighed. "Ilia, I want you to know that I haven't forgotten about everything. I may not be able to watch, but I can still remember. It's my hope that you can as well." He said, brushing the side of my face with the back of his left hand. I looked him in his orange-ringed eyes, still finding the ranch-hand that I had grown up with within the blue depths. I bit my lip.

"The- the others will want to see you-" I said after what seemed like an eternity. Link's smile slid off his face; his eyes went downcast.

"They can't know that I was here. I have such little time left as it is. I… just wanted to see you, Ilia." He said earnestly. My face reddened at his statement; nevertheless, he continued on.

"Ilia, know that I may not be able to watch you, but you will always hold a special place within my memory. If the Goddesses permit, I may be able to come here again… if only for a short time." He said, breaking away from me and beginning to turn. The last vestiges of twilight lingered within the spring, turning to night with my hero. Instantly I grabbed his hand.

"Promise me you'll come back." I said in a determined tone, hard-eyed. A flicker of sadness crossed his eyes before he answered.

"I can only promise so much, Ilia. But I can promise that I will never forget you." He said softly. With that he turned his back to me, to the spring, to the final light of that day, and melted into the shadows of the forest of Faron.

All I could do was kneel in the healing waters of the spring and weep.

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_There we go. Constructive criticism is welcome here if you wish to give it! Thanks for putting up with it. 3_


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